4.1 Commitments
Within the framework of the implementation of Agenda 2111, JPOI and the NEPAD frame-work, countries have committed to a number of technology transfer initiatives such as:
(a) Enhancement of appropriate incentives, fiscal or otherwise, to stimulate the transfer of environmentally-sound technology by companies, in particular, to developing countries, as integral to sustainable development;
(b) Enhancement of access to and transfer of patent protected environmentally sound tech-nologies, the purchase of patents and licenses on commercial terms for their transfer to developing countries on non-commercial terms, as part of development cooperation for sustainable development, taking into account the need to protect intellectual property rights12;
(c) Stimulation of the building of joint ventures between small and medium-sized enter-prises of developed and developing countries and countries with economies in transi-tion, and cleaner production programmes in public and private companies;
(d) Examination of financial intermediation for the financing of environmentally sound technologies, such as “green credit lines”;
(e) Provision of financial resources to developing countries and development of financial mechanisms for the acquisition of environmentall-sound technologies;
(f ) Need to take development into account in the process of negotiating an international code of conduct on transfer of technology, as decided by the United Nations Confer-ence on Trade and Environment (UNCTAD) at its eighth session, held at Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, in February 1992; and
(g) The call to support African countries in developing effective science and technology institutions and research activities capable of developing and adapting to world-class technologies.
Countries also highlighted the need to facilitate the maintenance and promotion of environmen-tally-friendly and sound indigenous technologies that may have been neglected or displaced, in particular, in developing countries, paying particular attention to their priority needs and taking into account the complementary roles of men and women13.
11 United Nations General Assembly 1997, Programme for the further implementation of Agenda 21, Transfer of environmentally sound technologies, § Adopted by the General Assembly at its nineteenth special session,. (23-28 June 1997)
12 Rio Conference, Agenda 21, Section IV Means of implementation, Chapter 34, § 34.18 ii, available at http://www.un.org/esa/
dsd/agenda21/res_agenda21_34.shtml
13 Rio Conference, Agenda 21, Section IV Means of implementation, Chapter 34, § 34.14 c, available at http://www.un.org/esa/
dsd/agenda21/res_agenda21_34.shtml
Actions taken and progress made
Most of the technological applications being used in Africa are created using knowledge derived from research and development (R&D) investment made by other countries. Many of these busi-ness models and practices do not differ radically from those in use in the same sectors in devel-oped countries (for instance, the Western Union money transfer system and Internet banking).
Similar benefits of technology acquisition in Africa have been recorded even in traditional sectors such as agriculture, energy and mining (ECA, 2011c).
Although Africa does not feature highly among top locations that attract R&D projects, a few countries such as Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and South Africa seem to have benefited from this trend.
In Africa, the most significant development in Science Technology and Innovation (STI) in the last decade is the establishment of the NEPAD Science and Technology Consolidated Plan of Action (CPA) and the African Ministerial Council on Science and Technology (AMCOST) of the African Union (AU) that drives the CPA. The CPA identifies key priority areas for Africa to work on, and the strategies and policy processes for their implementation. The United Nations supports NEPAD science and technology through its United Nations science and technology cluster consisting of over 10 agencies working through the Regional Coordination Mechanism (RCM) coordinated by ECA, in close collaboration with the AU Commission and AfDB.
At the national level, some African countries are in the process of establishing policies and insti-tutions on STI for sustainable development, through their National Environment Management Authorities. However, these are mainly focused on the modern sectors of the economy such as industry and have not yet impacted traditional activities such as peasant agriculture.
Recent focus on science-based sustainable modernization of agriculture and rural transforma-tion through the Comprehensive African Development Programme (CAADP) of NEPAD and the African Green Revolution Alliance, headed by former United Nations Secretary- General Kofi Annan, is very encouraging. Countries such as Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria and Ugan-da are participating, using plans for modernizing agriculture or agriculture-led industrialization strategies.
As regards information and communication technologies (ICT), most African countries have developed National Information and Communication Infrastructure policies and plans, in the framework of the African Information Society Initiative, which establishes the necessary guide-lines and institutional mechanisms to promote an environment that is favourable to competition and investment.
As far as the transfer of environmental technologies is concerned, a few technology transfer frameworks of benefit to the continent were established during the past two decades. They in-clude:
(a) The clean development mechanism (CDM). The main market instrument of the Kyoto Protocol is designed to transfer technology from developed to developing countries; and (b) Article 4.5 of the UNFCCC. This article aims to increase and improve the transfer
of environmentally sound-technologies and know-how. Implementation of this Article was strengthened as part of the Marrakech Accords, where agreement was reached to work together on a set of technology transfer activities, grouped under a framework for meaningful and effective actions.
4.3 Constraints and challenges
STI has an important role to play in the attainment of the continent’s sustainable development objectives. Yet, this is one of the most neglected sectors in the development drive of countries.
Africa’s continued low investment in science and technology is also manifested in the declining quality of science and engineering education at all levels of educational systems. Institutions of higher education, particularly, universities and technical colleges, are in urgent need of renewal after many years of neglect and disorientation from local and national priorities. However, de-velopments at the international and regional levels from 2000 to date provide new sources of optimism and action.
The lack of awareness of a number of African governments on the crucial role of science, technol-ogy and innovation in the implementation of a sustainable development agenda is resulting in low investment in science and technology and declining quality of science and engineering educa-tion at all levels of educaeduca-tional systems.
Other problems plaguing the continent’s science, technology and innovation system include weak or no links between industry and science and technology institutions, a mismatch between R&D activities and national industrial development strategies and goals. As a result, research findings from public research institutions do not get accessed and used by local industries, particularly, small and medium-sized enterprises.
The transfer of technological knowledge is often an issue that is not well addressed by countries of the region. For example, the continent registered limited increase in R&D expenditure by for-eign affiliates, attracted very few R&D projects, and recorded the lowest growth in forfor-eign patent applications and trademarks granted. There are very few R&D experts in the continent. In many countries, infrastructure for R&D has been neglected and is decaying. And it was observed that Africa is the only region where patent applications have actually fallen between 1990 and 2004 (WIPO, 2005).
4.4 Lessons learned and the way forward
Access to technology can be instrumental in improving management of the environment and natural resources, helping to sustain economic activity that relies on them. It can also create new economic opportunities. Thus, a transition towards a green economy provides an opportunity to adopt policies and legislation that encourage technology transfer such as design of intellectual property rights, the removal of trade barriers to the transfer of green technologies and interna-tional cooperation on green technology transfer in sectors such as agriculture, renewable energy, transport or water.
Technology transfer is an issue of some prominence at the macro level in negotiations between developed and developing countries, especially in the context of trade liberalization, climate and protection of the environment (UNIDO, 2002). This provides an opportunity for African coun-tries to address issues of importance to the continent such as indigenous knowledge and tech-nologies that could be applied in the field of medicine and sustainable buildings.
The creation of an enabling environment for the transfer of environmentally-sound technolo-gies also entails government actions, such as fair trade policies, removal of technical, legal and administrative barriers to technology transfer, sound economic policy, regulatory frameworks and transparency, all of which create an environment conducive to private and public sector tech-nology transfer. Capacity-building in the area of techtech-nology is pertinent for the region to enable it to achieve a smooth transition to a low-carbon based economy and sustainable technological growth.
A few simple measures that countries could implement to promote technology transfer and in-novation are:
(a) Promoting industry-academia-government (triple helix) partnerships to identify, ac-quire, adapt, upgrade and diffuse new and emerging technologies as well as incubate and nurture start-ups. Each of these players brings unique advantages that could reduce costs and risks associated with technology transfer;
(b) Contracting should be used to facilitate technology transfer through requirements that encourage joint ventures and projects between domestic and foreign firms, and between domestic industries and R&D centers;
(c) Establishing industrial alliances between domestic and foreign firms, especially those in which the government participates, invests or acts as guarantor, could serve as a driver for technology transfer, learning and innovation; and
(d) Enhancing international science and technology cooperation agreements between Af-rican countries and leading or emerging technology exporters could be developed with a focus on joint research projects, exchange of expertise and knowledge, pooling of re-sources and exchange of good practices.
All these measures are not mutually exclusive and thus can be mixed, recombined and refined to come up with innovative organizational arrangements to suit national circumstances. Fur-thermore, incentives for technology development, transfer and diffusion could also be built in these models. Other measures such as incubators, science parks, and industrial districts could be tailored to promote these models and vice-versa. The main objectives behind each of these recommendations are to encourage private sector involvement in innovation, leverage limited hu-man, financial and institutional resources through partnerships and cooperation, and encourage learning through exchange of best practices and wider diffusion of technology.